Temporary home

 

Do you ever wake up from one of those weird dreams and immediately start wondering what that was all about? No, I'm not talking about the dinosaurs dancing in tutus kind of weird, I'm talking about...well, let me just recount the dream.

Yesterday I woke up from one of those dreams that make you wonder. The dream featured some old friends that we haven't seen in literally decades other than occasionally on Facebook. It seems we were hosting a dinner party and for some reason, we were having it at their house. There were lots of people and of course my friends and dogs - lots of family dogs. Oh, and of course tons of kids running around. Everyone was having a great time, dogs would put their paws on the counter to sniff the food but even they were being polite - looking but not swiping off the counter. 

At some point, I went to put something on the stove and noticed that the wall behind the stove was scarred - that's the only way I can figure to explain it. It had been through years of something - maybe bad or sloppy cooking or something - anyway, the wallpaper (yes, wallpaper) behind the stove was sort of messed up and scarred. I thought as I put my pot on the stove to warm that it was odd that my friends hadn't tried to fix it, or at least cover it up with some sort of decorative something. I know I would have.

Then I heard my friends talking and they were saying how they were actually just renting this house. It was temporary and soon they would be moving into their new house and how excited they were about it. This home had some great features - lots of storage space, etc. and they were very comfortable in it but, well, the conversation faded out after that, or maybe I just don't remember it. 

There were other bits and pieces but that stove and what they had said were what really stuck with me after I woke up. 

How weird. Wonder what that was all about?

Then, on the way to work, it hit me. My friends were very comfortable in their temporary home and made no real effort to hide the flaws because it wasn't theirs. Oh, they kept it very clean and welcoming, but things like the scarred wall behind the stove weren't theirs to fix. They were concentrating on putting their resources into the new home that was being built. 

Me, myself, this body I live in is my temporary home. It's got some scars from use and misuse, and while I would probably try to hide those scars with something, it's really not worth spending too much time even thinking about. I'm sort of just "renting" this place out till my new home is move-in ready. The things that I think will embarrass me if they are seen aren't really worth spending time on. I do my best to keep things up, but this is an old place filled with lots of years of wear and tear. Instead of spending time worrying about it, I should spend my time enjoying the people around me and really living in this temporary home right now...wrinkles and scars and all.

So, there you have it. One weird dream and what I got from it. Oh, one more thing. When I got to school, one of my students was wearing a sweatshirt that read, "Embrace the awesome that you are!" I thought that was a pretty appropriate conclusion. I'm going to embrace the "storage space" I have and every part of this temporary home while I'm here. 

Hebrews 13:14 (NLT) "For this world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven."

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash